Subnautica 2 was made by Unknown Worlds. Unknown Worlds was purchased by Krafton, which promised the studio’s founders a massive payout, up to $250 million, if it posted record revenues. There was a whole lawsuit over the publisher trying to get out of keeping that wild promise. Not only did Krafton lose that lawsuit, but it now appears to be losing on the numbers front as well, as Subnautica 2 performs like gangbusters on Steam during its first month in Early Access.
How the agreement works is this. Krafton agreed to pay $3.12 to Unknown Worlds cofounders for every $1 of revenue every time the studio’s revenue topped $70 million in a single month. That would trigger a $218 million payout for the first month, with the total bonus capped at $250 million. According to a new report by the Korean Economic Daily (via IGN), Krafton is on track to have to pay that out, which would amount to 35 percent of its 2025 operating profit.
Subnautica 2 has already sold 4 million copies since it came to Steam on May 14. At $30 a copy, subtracting Valve’s 30 percent platform fee, that’s around $85 million in potential revenue for this month alone. That’s not including sales of the existing games, which are no doubt getting a bit of attention boost as well at the moment. Subnautica 2 is also currently available on Xbox Series X/S, where it’s part of an ongoing Game Pass deal.
So why did Krafton make such a dumb deal to begin with? Did the publisher simply think Unknown Worlds would never hit those outlandish monthly metrics, or was it just that desperate to lock up a U.S.-based studio and hit PC gaming IP amid the post-pandemic studio acquisition race? Remember, Unknown Worlds was purchased for an upfront price of $50 million in 2021 when investment was flooding in from China, and Sony and Microsoft were snatching up studios left and right.
The publisher almost got out of the $250 million payout last summer when it delayed the launch of Subnautica 2 and fired the studio’s cofounders for not doing their jobs. Krafton’s CEO even asked ChatGPT for help with the agreement, a fact that came back to bite him when it came up during a trial over breach of contract. A judge ruled in favor of the studios’ cofounders earlier this year, though the court will still decide exactly how much gets paid out under these new conditions.
At least Krafton has one of 2026’s biggest PC games on its hands.